Problems in Translating Islamic Text from Arabic into English [Project as partial fulfillment of BA (English) Degree Program]
Project Participant Asma Abd-Allah Halahla Palestine Project Guide Mr. Khaldoon Sughayer Department of English Al Quds Open University Palestine
Index 1. Abstract 2. Preface to Project 3. Translation as a Communication Process 4. Relationship between Arabic & Islam (SL & ST) 5. Linguistic Variation between Arabic and English (SL & TL) 6. Islamic Arabic Text Translation in English (ST in TL) 7. Conclusions for Arabic-English Islamic Translation 8. References
1. Abstract Project Title: Problems in Translating Islamic Text from Arabic into English Overview: This project aims to focus on problems faced by translators during their translation of Islamic Religious texts and would be based on existing religious texts in Arabic and how it has been translated into English as a case study. This problem can be better understood focusing on the associated meaning of a word and its accurate or nearest meaning existing in target language. In this case English lacks the equivalents and hence force translators to interpreting rather than translating and perhaps risking or making compromise with the original spirit or beauty of the original text or even the accuracy of this translation and this create a sort of misunderstanding and raising post-translation issues over authenticity of the translation work. Project Requirements: Present project requires linguistic knowledge of Islamic Religious texts in proper context. It also requires a person to be familiar with present tools used by translators. Results: Study should lead towards listing the problems, reasons and how to overcome them possibly in the best manner. Practical usefulness of the project: A project website would be made with project output to benefit web community on free web-hosting.
2. Preface to Project The Project was originally aimed to be titled as “Problems while Translating Religious Text” to cover problems of translators when they translate any religious text but later it was decided to limit its study area up to Islamic text only. Another significant change was made to focus on Arabic & English rather than generalizing on all languages which is not possible unless it is done by group of linguists having skills in major world languages, major world religions, and major socio-cultural setups. The reason behind narrowing project focus area was lack of required time, resources, and opportunities. However, current project is now aimed to study process of Islamic translation from Arabic to English and its prerequisites. It starts with giving overview of Translation as a Communication Process and shows relationship between Arabic & Islam as this understanding helps us how Islamic translation is challenging task or why it is not encouraged when it comes to translation of Quran. Project then pays attention towards how Linguistic Variations between Arabic & English influence the process of translation. Later, the focus is on Variations between Arabic Islamic Text and English Speaking Non-Islamic World which influence the process of Islamic translation. It concludes with certain tips for the Islamic translators in the end. The present project is published online on www.qou.ucoz.net for further discussion for following groups. This website would publish student projects as well as create student intellectual and academic forum, Insha Allah. •
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Arabic English Translators General People with linguistic skills in both Arabic & English and familiarity with Islamic and Non-Islamic culture Students & Scholars in relevant field or with interest in Islamic Languages, Culture & Religion
This project website is created to spread Arabic but people are welcome to create blogs and provide feedback to benefit from its open discussion. Website would provide various translation tools and links to translation related resources as soon as possible. An effort has been made to give due credit/references to all sources which helped in study of this project. However, any omission if occurs is regretted. At last, I must thank the college to provide such a wonderful opportunity to engage students in such creative projects. I also thank to my all teachers for their cooperation. Sukran, Jazakallahu Kahyran Asma Abd-Allah Halahla, Palestine
3. Translation as a Communication Process The Role of Communication in Global Cooperation The steady development of human society requires their ‘Co-existence in Peace and Harmony’. This, in turn, requires ‘Intellectual Cooperation’ among them and again it needs ‘Effective Communication’. Human beings, throughout the history, have made an effort to take advantage of various methods of communication with the intention of utilizing the knowledge of other nations, sharing their knowledge and preserving it for the coming generations. This desire or need to communicate across the border and culture led to an Information Age or age of Digital Revolution where everything is almost one click of mouse away. As the most effective methods of communication, language has been employed to satisfy the very need of communication. The dissimilarity of languages and culture throughout the world however is an obstacle unless we have uniformity in culture, religion, or language. Until and unless that happens, communication between different nations with different languages is feasible through translation. Translation – An Effective Tool to Communicate across the culture & border Throughout history, translation has made inter-linguistic communication between peoples possible. Theoretically, one can consider translation a science; practically, it seems rational to consider it an art. However, regardless of whether one considers translation as a science, art, or craft, one should bear in mind that a good translation should fulfil the same function in the TL as the original did in the SL. General Meaning of Translation Translation is the comprehension of the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent text in other language. It is supposed that translation process should result into successful communication of the same message in another language. Key Words Explanation
1. The text that is translated is called ‘the source text’ or ST’. 2. The Language of the source text is called ‘the Source Language’ or SL 3. The resulting text at the end of translation task is sometimes called ‘the Target Text’ or TT 4. The language that it is translated into is called ‘the Target Language’ or TL
There are countless definition of Translation and none of them can cover all linguistic and socio-cultural aspects involved in a complex process of communicating ‘Source Text’ (content such as piece of writing expressing idea, thought, feeling etc.) from ‘Source Language’ (e.g. Arabic) and produce ‘Target Text’ (closest natural equivalent textual material) in ‘Target Language’ (e.g. English). This process should not cause any significant loss in terms of ‘form, meaning, and beauty of source text’ and end up as passing same understanding or producing same feeling in target text as found in case of source text. In brief, translation should pass same information and should create same effect in target text as in case of source text. Differences between SL & TL
1. Lexical Variation: e.g. Word/phrase/idiom/proverb unavailability 2. 3. 4. 5.
in Target Language compared to source language Semantics Variation: e.g. Variation of meanings of single word in SL compared to unavailability of even single word to represent SL concept or idea in TL Syntax Variation: e.g. Variation in structure of sentence in SL and TL such as Arabic has (VSO) and English (SVO) Form Variation: Literary device and implemented sentence patterns by author in SL such as verse resulting in TL as prose Socio-cultural Variation: variation between speakers of SL compared to speakers of TL
4. Relationship between Arabic & Islam (SL & ST) Status of Arabic in Present World 1. The Arab World, 22 countries with some 300 million people, is but a small part of the Muslim World, approximately 800 million. 2. [Arabic script remains the second most widely used alphabet in the world following the Latin script. In addition to Arabic, over ten languages still retain the Arabic script - the most important being Kurdish, Persian, Pashto, and Sindhi in Pakistan Urdu. 3. Arabic is one of the six languages used in the United Nations and it is a working language in the Organization of African Unity. Moreover, it is the second official language in Israel and it has recently been reinstated as a second tongue in some Muslim countries such as Iran, Pakistan and the southern part of the Philippines. Importance of Arabic in Islam Arabic and Islam can't be separated and knowledge of Arabic makes it easy to understand Islam. Let’s see who says what about why knowledge of Arabic is important in order to know Islam and later we would see why translation should be done with great care in detail. Quran Verses about Arabic:
1. "Verily we have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’ân in order that you may understand” [Quran - 12: 2]
2. 'And thus have We sent it (the Qur'an) down to be a judgment of authority in ARABIC' (13:37) 3. 'And thus We have sent it down as a Qur'an in ARABIC and have explained therein warnings, in order that they may fear Allah, or that it may cause them to have a lesson from it'
4. 'An ARABIC Qur'an without any crookedness...'(39:28) 5. 'A Book whereof the Verses are explained in detail a Qur'an in ARABIC for people who know' ((41:3)
6. 'And thus We have revealed to you a Qur'an in ARABIC....' (42:7)
7. 'We verily, have made it a Qur'an in ARABIC that you may be able to understand' (43:3)
8. And thus We have inspired unto you (O Muhammad) an Arabic Qur’ân that you may warn the mother of the towns (Makkah) and all around it” [Soorah ash-Shura: 7]
9. "And truly this (the Qur’ân) is a revelation from the Lord of the
'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists), which the trustworthy Ruh (Jibreel) has brought down upon your heart (O Muhammad) that you may be (one) of the warners, in the plain Arabic language”[Soorah ash-Shura: 192-195]
Narration about Arabic:
10. It is reported that ‘Umar ibn Yazeed wrote to Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari (may Allaah be pleased with him) and said: ‘Learn the Sunnah and learn Arabic; learn the Qur’aan in Arabic for it is Arabic.’
11. According to another hadeeth narrated from ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), he said: ‘Learn Arabic for it is part of your religion, and learn how the estate of the deceased should be divided (faraa’id) for these are part of your religion.’
12. The Prophet(peace be upon his) as also said: ".....the Qur'an is Arabic and the tongue of the People of Paradise is Arabic"
13. Umar radi Allahu anhu was once circumambulating the Ka’bah when
he heard two men speaking in a language other than Arabic behind him. He turned to them and said, "Find some way to learn Arabic.” [‘Abd Al-Razzâq Al-San’ânî, Al-Musannaf Vol.5 p496]
14.
Very early on in the history of Islam we find such examples of encouraging the mastery of Arabic. There are many such examples as mentioned below.
15. A man went to Ziyad ibn Abeehi and complained to him that his
father had died and his brother had taken all the inheritance unlawfully, but made a grammatical mistake in his complaint. Ziyad replied, "The loss you have caused your soul is greater than what you have lost in your wealth.”
16. This trend continued throughout the ages, and with the expansions of the Umayyad dynasty in the 7th Century C.E., solecisms became widespread such that they even afflicted the caliphs and leaders such as ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi. Language became a measure of status such that a man’s social standing would drop were he found to commit solecisms, to the extent that ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan was once told that his hair had become gray very early, to which he replied, "It is due to my fear
of ascending the pulpit and commiting a solecism during my sermon!" He used to view solecisms in speech to be worse than ripping apart an expensive and precious garment.
17. Men were often rewarded greatly for merely being able to speak fluently without mistakes, even if they were undeserving of the reward. For example, the Caliph ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-’Azeez used to say, "A man may come to me asking me for something he deserves, but if he commits a grammatical error while asking I deny him it, for it makes me feel as though I am nibbling at a peice of sour pomegranate due to my anger at hearing his mistake. Similarly, a man may come to me asking for something he does not deserve, but if he says it with correct speech I grant him it, due to my delighting at the speech I hear from him."
18. Ibn Taymiyyaah (rahimahu Allaah) commented, "Before one can interpret and understand the Qur'an and the Hadith, he must know the denotations and connotations intended by the words of Allaah and His Messenger (sallaa Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam). How can their words be understood? Knowledge of the Arabic language in which we were addressed will help us to understand what Allaah and His Messenger (sallaa Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) intended through their words, as will understanding the semantics behind the words and phrases. Truly, most of the misguidance of the Innovators occurred due to this reason – they began to misinterpret the words of Allaah and His Messenger (sallaa Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) claiming that they meant one thing, when really they meant another."
19. Know that Sheikh Abdalqadir al-Murabit says in his at-Tarbiyat alIslamiyyat al-Asliyya: "....for someone approaching Islamic education there would be a primary requirement which we would not even list it -it would be the 'given', ....it is frankly, and there is no escaping it, a clear grasp of the Arabic language. And I would say for the ajami who does not speak Arabic, it is necessary for him to take it on and get it by the most traditional means possible in order to arrive at an Arabic which is in itself more related to fusaha, more connect you to the Qur'an and Islamic 'ilm." To the English-speaking 'faqih' who insist upon 'judging' by way of the Qur'an only....that the reality is that you actually rely on the 'translators' of the Qur'an in your own 'judgments'! Every time the non-Arabic reader/'faqih' of the Qur'an makes the claim that "Allah has said" the more accurate description is that the "translator has interpreted that Allah the Most High means by this statement" !!! This is an accurate description of the process of what you read in the translations. Of course, we are on a medium where English language must be used....and English translations of the Qur'an are very important! We can and should give inspiration, advice and exhortations to do good, and things like this....however, the anti-scholar wants more than this.....he wants to issue fatwa and condemn the ulema, and convince people that his 'INTERPRETATION' of
the Qur'an by way of the English medium is the actual word of Allah as a commandment and judgment! Therefore it is not surprising that the antihadith and anti-scholar who makes these fiqh judgments can not and does not discern this difference between the actual Qur'anic text and the translation which he relies upon!!! The anti-scholar ignorance is deep, he does not even realize that the translators of the Qur'an that he relies so heavily upon....they themselves rely on the 'mufassirs' or the ulema (scholars) who have written commentaries on the Qur'an!!! As they attack reliance on the ulema, they can not name one Muslim translator who does not refer to the very same ulema to aid the translation of the Book of Allah! Scholars like Ibn Katheer, Qurtabi, Fakhr ud-din al-Razi, Shawkani, Baydawi,Tabari, and others. There is not one translator of the Qur'an that does not utilize Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim and the hadith-text!!!! Why is this? What is often not apparent to the non-Arabic reader is that many ayats in the Qur'an can contain more than one meaning. Ta'wil is a process in Arabic language where a shift in the meaning of word can occur with the availabliity of a proof that indicates that the word has another meaning which is plausible in the text. In many instances the translator chooses a meaning according to his understanding and reflections! A proof of this is obvious by simply picking up a Qur’an and examines some of the different renderings of the same Arabic text! Learning and studying Arabic frees one from being constrained to what the translator has chosen for the non-Arabic reader. The serious student of Islam cannot be constrained by translations of others! He/she must learn Arabic to expand his/her knowledge! If a student striving to struggle and learn the deen has to learn Arabic....what does this say for the 'faqih' who will expose, pontificate, and elucidate the meanings of the Qur'an for us.....without knowing the language of the Qur'an!!!! I say again.....beware of the anti-scholar/hadith!!! You can rest assure they have no knowledge of Arabic language! Learn the language of the Qur'an and defend your deen against the corruption of the corrupters who desire to influence the hearts of people with their own vain desires!!!!!! (Khalil Muhsin in Necessity of Arabic) Use of Non-Arabic Languages in Islam Islam has incidents from history which shows prophet encouraged learning of other languages to ease to routine communication problems with non-Arabic world but never find examples where he could have encouraged translating Quran in English. There is difference between communicating overall message of Quran in another language and translating Quran in in another language which is almost impossible and not even encouraged.
Historical Example of Zayd ibn Thabit – (Companion of the Prophet) & His Language Learning The Prophet, peace be on him, listened to Zayd ibn Thabit (Companions of the prophet in his tender age) reciting some surahs he had memorized. His recitation was clear and beautiful and his stops and pauses indicated clearly that he understood well what he recited. The Prophet was pleased. The Prophet then set him a task which required intelligence, skill and persistence. "Zayd, learn the writing of the Jews for me," instructed the Prophet. "At your command, Messenger of Allah," replied Zayd who set about learning Hebrew with enthusiasm. He became quite proficient in the language and wrote it for the Prophet when he wanted to communicate with the Jews. Zayd also read and translated from Hebrew when the Jews wrote to the Prophet. The Prophet instructed him to learn Syriac also and this he did. Zayd thus came to perform the important function of an interpreter for the Prophet in his dealings with non-Arabic speaking peoples. Zayd's enthusiasm and skill were obvious. When the Prophet felt confident of his faithfulness in the discharge of duties and the care, precision and understanding with which he carried out tasks, he entrusted Zayd with the weighty responsibility of recording the Divine revelation. When any part of the Quran was revealed to the Prophet, he often sent for Zayd and instructed him to bring the writing materials, "the parchment, the ink-pot and the scapula", and write the revelation. Zayd was not the only one who acted as a scribe for the Prophet. One source has listed forty-eight persons who used to write for him. Zayd was very prominent among them. He did not only write but during the Prophet's time he collected portions of the Quran that were written down by others and arranged these under the supervision of the Prophet. He is reported to have said: "We used to compile the Quran from small manuscripts in the presence of the Prophet." In this way, Zayd experienced the Quran directly from the Prophet himself. It could be said that he grew up with the verses of the Quran, understanding well the circumstances surrounding each revelation. He thus became well-versed in the secrets of the Shariah and at an early age gained the well-deserved reputation as a leading scholar among the companions of the Prophet. After the death of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the task fell on this fortunate young man who specialized in the Quran to authenticate the first and most important reference for the ummah of Muhammad. This became an urgent task after the wars of apostasy and the Battle of Yamamah in particular in which a large number of those who had committed the Quran to memory perished.
Umar convinced the Khalifah Abu Bakr that unless the Quran was collected in one manuscript, a large part of it was in danger of being lost. Abu Bakr summoned Zayd ibn Thabit and said to him: "You are an intelligent young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness) and you used to write the Divine revelation for Allah's Messenger. Therefore look for (all parts of) the Quran and collect it in one manuscript." Zayd was immediately aware of the weighty responsibility. He later said: "By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains from its place, it would not have been harder for me than what he had ordered me concerning the collection of the Quran." Zayd finally accepted the task and, according to him, "started locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who knew it by heart)". It was a painstaking task and Zayd was careful that not a single error, however slight or unintentional, should creep into the work. When Zayd had completed his task, he left the prepared suhuf or sheets with Abu Bakr. Before he died, Abu Bakr left the suhuf with Umar who in turn left it with his daughter Hafsah. Hafsah, Umm Salamah and Aishah were wives of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them, who memorized the Quran. During the time of Uthman, by which time Islam had spread far and wide, differences in reading the Quran became obvious. A group of companions of the Prophet, headed by Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, who was then stationed in Iraq, came to Uthman and urged him to "save the Muslim ummah before they differ about the Quran". Uthman obtained the manuscript of the Quran from Hafsah and again summoned the leading authority, Zayd ibn Thabit, and some other competent companions to make accurate copies of it. Zayd was put in charge of the operation. He completed the task with the same meticulousness with which he compiled the original suhuf during the time of Abu Bakr. Zayd and his assistants wrote many copies. One of these Uthman sent to every Muslim province with the order that all other Quranic materials whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies be burnt. This was important in order to eliminate any variations or differences from the standard text of the Quran. Uthman kept a copy for himself and returned the original manuscript to Hafsah. Zayd ibn Thabit thus became one of the foremost authorities on the Quran. Umar ibn al-Khattab once addressed the Muslims and said: "O people, whoever wants to ask about the Quran, let him go to Zayd ibn Thabit."
And so it was that seekers of knowledge from among the companions of the Prophet and the generation who succeeded them, known as the "Tabiun", came from far and wide to benefit from his knowledge. When Zayd died, Abu Hurayrah said: "Today, the scholar of this ummah has died." When a Muslim holds the Quran and reads it or hears it being recited, surah after surah, ayah after ayah, he should know that he owes a tremendous debt of gratitude and recognition to a truly great companion of the Prophet, Zayd ibn Thabit, for helping to preserve for all time to come the Book of Eternal Wisdom. Truly did Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, say: "Surely We have revealed the Book of Remembrance and We shall certainly preserve it." (The Quran, Surah al-Hijr, 15:9) Note: Above incidents shows that nowhere we find prophet giving any task to Zayd or anyone else to translate Quran in Hebrew or any other foreign languages as Zayd or other companions like him could have done that if prophet had commanded. This shows that prophet knew about inability of other languages to communicate the message of Quran the way Arabic does. However, instruction to learn foreign language was to support general communication with Non-Arabic foreigners and to communicate about message of Islam. In another earlier example, Umar radi Allahu anhu was once circumambulating the Ka’bah and when he heard two men speaking in a language other than Arabic behind him. He turned to them and said, "Find some way to learn Arabic.” This shows that even non-arabic muslims were expected to learn Arabic.
5. Linguistic Variation between Arabic and English (SL & TL)
Arabic-English Variation Both Arabic and English languages belong to different settings and different language families. Arabic is classified as a member of the Semitic family of languages, English as a member of the Indo-European language family. Arabic is defined here as the official language spoken in more than 15 countries in the Middle East. English is an Indo-European language and the official language of Britain, the United States, and most of the commonwealth countries. Syntactically, Arabic and English exhibit different word orders. Arabic is, for the most part, a synthetic language. For instance, nouns are inflected for case and verbs are inflected for mood. Each of the two languages has its own ways of versification and phonologically Arabic and English have different phonemic inventories. In addition, if one wants to assess the real hindrances of translation, one cannot ignore the geographical distance between Arabic and English settings, which resulted in a distance between Arabic culture and English culture. Characteristics of Arabic Language and how it differs from English Topic [1] Morphology (word formation related)
Source Text (Arabic) & Target Text (English) الوسواس الخناس l-waswāsi l-khanāsi the whisperer, the one who withdraws
[2] Syntax (sentence order related)
Sayaj'alu I-laahu bad a usrin yusraa سيجعل ال بعد عسر يسرا After difficulty, God will soon grant relief
[3] Lexicon Related (Word Related)
'As-samad صمد ّ ال Eternal or almighty
Variations Economy of Words is remarkable in Arabic compared to English which has to use more words here to convey same message. English follow SubjectVerb-Object Order in sentence compared to Verb Subject Object in Arabic. The name of Allah Assamad represents the total perfection of might, power, wisdom, knowledge, and honor in Arabic. This collective representation of various attributes is lost in English translation as ‘eternal’ with just only one
particular attribute referred or signified.
[4] Semantics (meaning related)
عّدة ِ ?iddah A period during which a Muslim woman usually stays at home and does not use make-up or perfume to beautify herself. 130 days for the woman whose husband passed away and about 90 days for the divorcee . Tayammum تيّمم To strike your hands on the earth and pass the palm of each hand on the back of the other and then blow off the dust from them and pass-rub-them on your face. It is a kind of ablution that is adopted when someone is spiritually unclean and there is no water.
ابيض abyaD (white) ثورة بيضاء white revolution
No equivalents in English. Concepts is absent in western non-Islamic culture.
Some َQur'anic items are loaded with specific emotive overtones, which in turn create lexical voids in translation. This lexical compression of Qur'anic expressions can only be tackled through componential analysis: the translator's nightmare can be alleviated by the semantic decomposition of the words. The Qur'anic lexical and morphological core senses are impenetrable. The lexical item ابيضabyaD (white) is denotatively used as in قميص ابيض qamiisun abyaD (white shirt) while connotatively or emotively as in ثورة بيضاء thauratun bayDa (white revolution), which connotes (peaceful, bloodless revolution). The former is, generally speaking, equivalent to the referential, or dictionary meaning, whereas the latter is equivalent to an expressive or emotive meaning. It is to be noted that native speakers of a language have a keen appreciation of the emotive meanings of words. The analysis of the
Hisaan حصان ِ , faras فرس , jawaad جواد Horse
ٌخَبر َ يثلج الصدرkhabarun yuthlij aS-Sadir news that freezes the chest
emotive meaning is by no means as easy as that of a referential meaning. Although these words can be used interchangeably in most contexts (since they all refer to the word horse), they are not interchangeable in all contexts. The plural form of any of these forms is khayl (horses), though (1) and (2) can have their distinct plurals as hisaan/ahsina and faras as furus/afraas, respectively. The above synonymous words have more than one semantic component in common. All of them have the component horse and male and female components. Only (1) has the component male alone, while (2) and (4) share the component male or female. We can also find that (1) and (2) have no distinctive qualities as horses, other than the components mentioned. However, (3) is characterized by agile movement and fastness and (4) by a special white patch on the forehead, which naturally contrasts with the overall dark color of the horse. the translator cant render these words in translation with their shared meanings into other language, without any loss or gain of meaning. In fact, it is happy news whereas the ecological equivalent in English expressions that have positive connotations are usually associated with warmth rather than cold
Sayf سيف , muhannad مهند , husaam حسام ُ sword
فليقل خيرًا أو ليسكت falyaqol khayran aw liyasmot To say good things, or else keep silent
كلم كبير kalaam kbeer Big talk Serious/responsible talk
such as: 'He was given a warm welcome' and 'He is a warm-hearted, i.e. kind, person The word sayf is a neutral word, denoting the English word sword. Although the words muhannad and husaam share all the characteristics with the word sword, they connote additional characteristics. For example, the word muhannad refers to a sword in its sheath or scabbard, case, indicating that the sword has not been used yet. The word husaam refers to a sword that is pointed or sharp. It also suggests meanings of straightforwardness or uprightness. The neutral Arabic word sayf does not allude to such connotations. This saying does not recommend absolute, everlasting silence. Their main message is to prefer silence to talking, listening to speaking, to be extra careful when saying something, and to remain quiet in critical situations and moments in the company of certain people. The English translations of this expression lean heavily on the transference of their literal meaning as closely and faithfully as possible. There is some ambiguity in 'big' which is mostly positive in many collocations. Here it seems to be positive as an adjective describing 'speech', yet it is not so in its connotations The difficulty lies in the
بومة bomah owl
[5] Sociolinguistics
صاحب صنعتين كذاب SaaHib Sin?atein kaththaab a man of two professions is a liar
fact that, in English, it stands for or carries positive connotations (wisdom and grace), but in Arabic it is a symbol of pessimism and has other negative associations. The translator in such a case has either to incorporate additional material in his TL version in order to make such implicit connotations explicit in the TL, or resort to explanatory footnotes to make up for the missing connotations in his TL version. when the translator comes across the hindrance of not finding a corresponding TL equivalent for the SL item, the translator usually resorts to a noncorresponding equivalent item, which may have an equivalent function in the TL culture It could be literally rendered as: "a man of two professions is a liar". This rendering offers insufficient sense to the English reader. However, it has an equivalent in the English (functional equivalence), which is: "a Jack of all trades is a master of none." When translating Proverbial expressions from Arabic into English, much attention should be paid to proverbial expressions not only because of their wisdom but also because they also well reflect the down-toearth philosophy, humor, and character of Arabs.
رمضان كريم Sorry,I cant offer you anything(because of Ramadan).
The rendering of التيممattayyammum as "the use of earth" is considered odd and less emotive in the English version. التيممis a religious term which means washing with clean sand for ablution because of the unavailability of water in some places. This lexical item has emotive associations that connote the dry conditions of Arabia, where Islam was originated, a man who cannot walk far to get water, a man suffering in a long journey and who has no full control over his supplies. The above emotive example reflects how such linguistic expressions would arouse the feelings of the Arabs and, when translated, they would not have the same influence on the TL receivers due to the differences in culture and degree of emotiveness. This can justify this proverb being more emotive to Arabs than its English translation on English-speaking people It is difficult to translate some expressions which is called clishes these expressions are closely related to with culture and the most difficult to translate.when translating clishes we have to concentrate on their meanings and try to find the most appropriate functional equivalent irrespective of the wording of this equivalent.
إن شاء ال I hope so
Some Arabic proverbs
إذا حضر الماء بطل التيمم 'itha HaDara al-maa baTala at-tayyammum If water is present for ablution, the use of earth is discontinued
سامحك ال God forgive you! المسامح كريم Be tolerant! عظم ال اجرك My condolences,I am sorry for your loss.
النسور ل تصيد الذباب Eagles catch no flies. إن مع اليسر عسرا Joy and sorrow are sisters.
have no equivalent proverbs in the TL,and have ,therefore,to be either translated literally or paraphrased.
6. Islamic Arabic Text Translation in English (ST in TL) Characteristics of Arabic Language in Islamic Text & resulting loss while translation No . 1.
Arabic Islamic Text and English Translation La ilaha illallah ل إله إل ال There is no god except Allah.
2
La ilaha ill Allah ل إله إل ال None worthy except Allah.
3
بسم ال الرحمن الرحيم In the name of Allaah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
4
سيجعل ال بعد عسرا يسرا Sayaj'alu I-laahu bad a usrin yusraa After difficulty, God will soon grant relief
Observation Introductory “There” of English removes the effect of Source Text that begins with “La emphatic negation. It is stylistic loss. Lack of introductory There here shows sentence beginning quite odd and make it look like unEnglish and unnatural. The word worthy has less frequency as it is not common word compared to common word ilah as for Muslims. Word worthy also does not indicate all attributes of Allah as word ilah contain. It is more of stylistic loss for English and Semantic Loss for Arabic. Beneficent and merciful don’t give the exact meaning of Al-Rahmaan and al-Raheem. Al-Rahmaan refers to the vastness of Allaah's mercy, and al-Raheem refers to its effect on His creation. So alRahmaan is the Owner of vast Mercy, and al-Raheem is the Owner of Mercy that encompasses His creation. Here translation changed sentence order as in source text it start with verb but when translated verb came at the end and English sentence never start with the verb.
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Nazzala'alayka-l-kittaba bilHaqqi muSaddiqan limma bayna yadayhi wa'anzala ttawraata wal-injiiil نّزل عليك الكتاب بالحق مصّدقا لما بين يديه وأنزل الثوراه والتجيل It is He who sent down to you (step by step) in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it, and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus)
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huwal-ladhi ja'la sh-shamsa Diyaa'an wal-qamara nurran هو الذي جعل الشمس ضياًء والقمر نورًا It is He who made the sun to be shining glory and the moon to be a light
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Qual'ud'uul-ladhiina za'amtum min duuni l-laahi قل أدعو الذين زعمتم من دون ال Say: Appeal to those whom you claim to instead of God
The word 'nazzala' ( )نّزلcreates a semantic challenge as it signifies the piecemeal revelation of the Quran that lasted 23 years. This verb form denotes repetitiveness in the action. By contrast, the verb form 'anzala'( ) انزلmeans 'to reveal in one go and at once. Thus, a distinction is made between the two kinds of revelation; the piecemeal revelation of the Qur'an and the singular revelation of the Torah and the Gospel. To appreciate the nuances of Qur'anic discourse on the lexical level, consider the following aaya in which the semantic subtleties are vividly expressed through two lexical items which may look similar to the reader but whose componential features are drastically distinct Although the words 'Diyaa'an' (ضياًء ) and 'Nuuran' ( ) نورًاseem to be synonymous, the two signify distinct semantic properties in this Qura'nic statement. Diyya'an is not captured by the translation 'shining glory' because its meaning--the generation of heat-is not echoed; hence the requirement for an informative periphrastic translation. The word 'Nuran' however, is appropriately rendered as "light," perhaps by coincidence, signifying, no generation of heat but light only. The word 'Diyya'an' also suggests that the sun radiates with its own light, but "Nuran" suggests that the moonlight is a reflection of the "sunlight" That interpretation falls short of the semantic complexity of the word 'dunni'. The word Duuni signifies dignity, might and monotheism, meaning there is nothing' above' God or equal to him. There should be explanatory notes to convey these aspects of meaning.
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.Mawquudah موقوذة any animal that receives a violent blow, is left to die, and then eaten without being slaughtered according to Islamic law
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الوسواس يوسوس وسوس Al-waswas ( ) الوسواسand yuwaswis() يوسوس, derived from the root verb waswasa ) ) وسوس and translated respectively as 'the whisper' and 'whispereth' in Pickhall's and most other English versions of the Qur'an 'from the evil of the sneaking whisperer who whispereth in the hearts of mankind وسوس 1.of the devil-to talk evil words to someone الوسواس 2.of the self ( ) نفسto talk evil to oneself الوسوسة 3.of a man-to talk repetitively in secret a. Whispering sounds of hunting dogs b. The clank of jewelry or light metal c. Every evil thought that comes to the heart wa man 'azhlamu mi-mman mana'a masaajidal-lahaahi ومن أظلم مّمن منع مساجد ال Who is more unjust than he who forbids from any of his houses of worship
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Some َQur'anic items are pregnant with specific emotive overtones, which in turn create lexical voids in translation. This lexical compression of Qur'anic expressions can only be tackled through componential analysis: the translator's nightmare can be alleviated by the semantic decomposition of the words. The Qur'anic lexical and morphological core senses are impenetrable. Part of the difficulty in translating the Qur'an is the presence of huge number of difficult and archaic words with a wide range of contextual meanings
Alliteration is the occurrence of identical sounds sentence-initially that add up melodic sounds and enhances cadence. This achieved by the letter m in the following aaya, and is lost in the translation
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wa la taj'al yadaka maglulatan ilaa unigika wa la tabsutha kullal-basti fa tag'uda maluuman mahsuura ّ ول تجعل يدك مغلولة إلى عنقك ول تبسطها ك ل البسط فتقعد ملوما محسورا And let not your hand be tied to your neck (like a miser) nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach (like a spendthrift) so that you become blameworthy and deprived (like a poor) Wa min' aayaatihi'annaka taral-arDa khaashi'atan fa'idhaa 'anzalnaa'alyhalmaa'a 'ihtazzat wa rabat ومن آياته أّنك ترى الرض خاشعة فإذا أنزلنا عليها الماء اهتّزت وربت Among his signs, you see how desolate the earth is; yet whenever we send water down upon it, it sti rs and sprouts
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ُكفر Ingratitude to Allah and manifest disbelief in Him and His religion
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الساكت عن الحق شيطان أخرس as-saakitu'ani l-haqqi shaytaanon akhras Lit.: "He who keeps his mouth shut on the right is a dumb Satan": "To refrain from saying the truth is satanic" This is a traditional saying by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). A person who keeps his mouth shut and refuses to speak the truth is likened to a dumb Satan (with all its bad connotations), which is an ugly image of man,
rhetorical feature of metaphor which is almost hard to render in another language
Consider the semantic complexity of the word 'khaashi'tan The use of the word "desolate' in English as equivalent to khashi'tan in Arabic does not convey the sense of humility, piety, genuine love and fear of the Lord, implied in the word. The earth and heaven are treated in the Qur'anic sense as living beings. They have feelings and weep for those who are pious and do good on earth, but not for disbelievers The translator may not be able to translate the wording of Kufr by only one equivalent word for example , unbelief، infidelity، or irreligion . in this case we have to interpret and give more than one word to support the meaning of the term. The translatability of this saying (or Hadith) into English as a oneto-one equivalent is comparatively low for two main reasons: the religious base and bias of the original might only be partially received by TL readers; and the image may not be understood or agreed upon completely by them
especially a Muslim
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حديث شريف hadeethon shareef Lit.: "Honourable saying (by the Prophet Muhammad)": "A Prophet's tradition/saying".
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ىىى ىىى ىىىىى ىىى ىىىىىى ىى ىىىىى ىىى ىىىىى ىىىىىىى wahal dkubbu n-naasa alaa wujoohihem fi- n-naari illa hasaaedu alsinatihem This is a part of a tradition by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It roughly means: "The people of Hellfire are thrown there mostly because of their wicked tongues. لتيمما at-tayyammum "the use of earth" is considered odd and less emotive in the English version. التيممis a religious term which means washing with clean sand for ablution because of the unavailability of water in some places.
Usually a saying is not described as honourable, only people are. But here we have a special kind of saying by the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him). So this metaphor is borrowed to elevate and venerate any saying by him. It has a quite affectionate, positive effect on all Muslims. It is one of a number of phrases used to describe the Prophet, with 'shareef' 'honourable' being a common denominator among them: 'His honourable, face/head/hand', etc., all of which are special metaphors aimed at glorifying the Prophet, his sayings, possessions and deeds. It is a strong warning of the dire consequences of sins such as backbiting, telling lies, abusing someone, speaking in vain etc. and the word wicked tongue does not indicate to such things.
This lexical item has emotive associations that connote the dry conditions of Arabia, where Islam was originated, a man who cannot walk far to get water, a man suffering in a long journey and who has no full control over his supplies. The above emotive example reflects how such linguistic expressions would arouse the feelings of the Arabs and, when translated, they would not have the same influence on the TL receivers due to the differences in culture and degree of
emotiveness.
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سحور َ saHuur a meal eaten before the dawn for fasting خلوةkhalwah unmarried man and woman found in a place where there is nobody else ? عقيقةaqiiqah a goat to slaughter and distribute its flesh to the poor on the occasion for having new baby
There are certain lexical items in Arabic having no equivalents in English because the concepts they refer to do not exist in the Englishspeaking culture. Such items are normally culture-bound terms. The difficulty in translating these words is due to lexical gaps resulting from the cultural differences between the two languages.
صلة الستسقاء salaat al-'istisqaa the prayer asking God to make it rain
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صلة الستخارة sallat al-'istikhaarah the prayer asking God's guidance to make a good choice لخبيثة الكلمة al-kalimatu l-khabeethah Disagreeable/malicious talk "Dirty/bad talk" الخبيث لكلما al-kalaamu l-khabeeth It is used to mean bad, evil, dirty, wicked, vicious, obnoxious, devilish, indecent and taboo language in general
English has no perfect equivalent for such expressions.
7. Conclusions for Arabic-English Islamic Translators Translators should be aware of and well acquainted with the cultural dimensions of the environment from which the SL text is taken. The relationship between culture and translation is strong and durable whereas translation is an essential means through which people can get access to the cultures of the other nations. Translation therefore deals with the transfer by the translator of concepts which belong to one culture and which are communicated by the linguistic system of that culture into another culture using the latter's linguistic system. Characteristics of Good Translation [1] Avoid the tendency to translate word for word since word for word translation misinterprets the original content and spoils the beauty of its form. [2] The style and way of the exposition should be the same as in the original. [3] Produce the same effect on the minds of our readers as nearly as possible as was produced by the original on its readers. [4] A good translation must possess the potential of being evaluated "like a first-class native thing”. He maintains that translation must "consciously attempt the spirit of the original at the expense of the letter. [5] Translation should have quality that it is read with the same interest and enjoyment which a reading of the original would have afforded. [6] Translation should fulfil the same purpose in the new language as the original did in the language in which it was written. [7] Translation should be literal, rendering as closely as the associative and syntactical capacities of another language allow, the exact contextual meaning of the original. [8] The resulting form of the message in the receptor language should represent the closest natural equivalent of the source-language text.
[9] However, in some cases, the concept of literal translation seems to be impossible and non-existent and so it is better considered as a good or bad translation. [10] A successful translation should attempts to preserve "the appropriate stylistic resources of the target language." [11] The issue of translatability is believed to be translator-dependent. Using his skill and experience, the competent translator can translate the untranslatable and creatively offer somewhat meaningful TL versions out of the most obscure texts. Translator’s Skills Requirement [1] Background Knowledge of Source Text (Content) e.g. Technical, Religious, Literary etc. [2] Linguistic Skills in SL & TL [3] Background Knowledge of Literary Forms: e.g. prose, verse, formal language, informal language
Tips for Arabic English Translator of Islamic Text 1. One should not translate unless he or she has sound knowledge of religion. For this, one has to refer to Quran, Hadith, Life of Prophet, Stories of Companions, popular Tafseer of Quran, Books on Islamic Sharia, and various dictionaries of Islamic terms. This understanding help to understand context of source text before it is translated into target text in English. 2. After understanding Source Text, a translator has to make sure that one is able to understand Arabic with all its semantic aspects. Being native Arabic speaker may not be enough as Arabic is rich language and has many senses of each word that may require understanding word in proper context. 3. A translator needs to have knowledge of Literary Form such as prose or verse to understand beauty and style in any form of expression. Knowledge of Form is required for both Source Language & Target Language as literary beauty of form should be captured and possibly should be expressed in the same way utilizing artistic and careful usage of various word or phrases without bringing variation in meaning. 4. In case of unavailability of word or concept in Target Language, translator should use footnotes and write details on from various authentic sources. Socio-Cultural Aspects in Arabic English Translation
Culture is a collective experience which includes knowledge, belief, morals, art, traditions, and any habits acquired by a group of people in a society. Culture also includes the total system of habits and behavior of which language is an essential subset. The vocabulary of a language expresses the culturally important areas of a group of people in a particular setting whether religious, aesthetic, social, and environmental, among others. Arabic for instance, has a variety of names for dates, camels, swords, horses, rain, winds, etc. English, on the other hand, has a variety of linguistic signs associated with the sea as English-speaking people are continuously exposed to it in their environment. The fact that what is considered culturally acceptable to one group of people can be regarded as totally strange and mysterious to another. For instance, "In the Islamic Culture, it is lawful for a man to marry up to four wives if he can treat them equally and fairly, whereas in the Christian West, polygamy is prohibited. Polygamy, thus, is strange and unacceptable to the people of the West because normally it never happens in their society and it is by no means part of their culture. Much the same way, having girlfriend (non-marital relationship) is sinful and punishable task in Islamic culture but it is not a big thing (in case it has mutual concern) in Non-Islamic Societies, particularly Christian West. And west culture goes beyond this to validating gays/lesbians, something unthinkable for Muslim culture. As for translation, these differences among cultures represent an area of difficulty, the degree of which depends on whether the languages involved are close or remote culturally. This implies that translation between languages of totally different or seemingly opposite cultures is more difficult than carrying out translation between languages that are culturally related or similar. This does not imply, however, that translation between languages that are culturally related or similar is a straightforward activity.
Untranslatability Untranslatability reflects the area where intercultural equivalence does not exist. Intercultural non-equivalence which can cause untranslatability arises when a situational feature is functionally relevant to the SL text, but fully absent from the TL text in which the TL culture is rooted. The more disagreement there is between the concepts of the source culture or its linguistic system and those of the TL culture or its linguistic system, the more these variables hinder intercultural translation. This may lead to untranslatability such as in cases overwhelmed by tension between form and meaning. This can make obtaining full equivalence difficult, or even impossible.
It is true that in some cases, the Arab translator may find certain lexical items in Arabic having no equivalents in English because the concepts they refer to do not exist in the English-speaking culture. Such items are normally culture-bound terms. From Arabic-English intercultural translation perspective, examples can elucidate the issue of translatable versus untranslatable terms.
Emotiveness Emotiveness is the other cultural hindrance related to the speaker's emotive intention embedded in the text. Comprehension often involves much more than understanding what the words which make up the text point to in reality. There are other implicit matters such as thoughts and feelings to consider. Some types of text intend to express or arouse emotional responses to a special topic. Other types of text aim only to denote. That is to say, some text-producers use a neutral/objective vocabulary, whereas others use emotive/subjective vocabulary. An emotive meaning has a function of responses to words i.e. certain words tend to produce emotive meaning to achieve their function of bringing about certain emotive responses by language users. This function is determined by the purpose for which the text is written or said. He supports Stevenson who gives the following definition of emotiveness: The emotive meaning of a word or phrase is a strong and persistent tendency, built up in the course of linguistic history, to give direct expression to certain of the speaker's feelings or emotions or attitudes; and it is also a tendency to evoke corresponding feelings, emotions or attitudes in those to whom the speaker's remarks are addressed. Translators sometimes must give precedence to the emotive and affective elements in the SL over the informative or content elements if the context requires that. An Arab translator who renders emotive lexical items into English should pay due attention to this suggestion as well as to the context, particularly cultural one, which can also become very helpful in analyzing the emotive meaning and render it properly in the TL. In Arabic we have numerous examples of lexical items or expressions, which pose a difficulty when translating into English and their translation, seem incongruent despite the efforts made by translators and that, in most cases, translators fail to convey their emotive connotative meanings, managing only to convey the denotative meanings. Proverbial expressions are no exception in the sense that they are linguistic structures, which are deeply rooted in and emotively colored by culture from which they are taken. When translating from Arabic into English, much attention should be paid to proverbial expressions not only because of their wisdom but also because they also well reflect the downto-earth philosophy, humor, and character of Arabs. Culture-Specific Expressions
Another hindrance is manifested in culture-specific expressions. With regard to translating from Arabic into English, the translator must sometimes deal with texts containing proverbs, verses, historical incidents long forgotten, legendary personages, names of places, animals, plants, etc that are peculiar only to a specific culture. In addition, we must consider the normal difficulties in interpreting cultural contexts of worlds with completely different tastes and conventions such as the Arab world to the English-speaking world. When translating, a translator must bear in mind the fact that s/he should convey messages, not merely words. Taking this into consideration, the translator should be familiar with and sensitive to cultures, the one which the text is translated from and the one the text is translated into. As part of culture, translators should consider the ecological conditions because Arabic belongs to an area of hot and dry climate, whereas English belongs to an area of cold and wet climate. To conclude this point, one can notice how controversial it is to translate culture-specific expressions. For us, the degree of simplicity and possibility of translating such expressions between languages of different cultures depends in the first place on: who the translator is, his background, and the way he decodes and re-encodes the source text. The translator as the decisive factor will be dwelled on below. Proposed use or development of Tools & Resources for Islamic Translators [1] World Famous Tafseer of Quran & Hadith [2] Encyclopedia of Islam [3] Encyclopedia of World Religions [4] Arabic English Dictionary of Islamic Terms [5] Arabic English Dictionary of Rare Words [6] Arabic English Translator’s Dictionary Features:
i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi.
Software
with
Following
Maximum Words Coverage Multiple Senses Grammatical Notes on Word Origin, Word Class, Word Usage Frequency, Linguistic Notes on Morphological, Syntactical, Semantic, and Stylistic Aspects of each word. Transliteration for Arabic Words Real Life Example from Arabic English Corpus
References .8 Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia http://accurapid.com/journal Allegory in Arabic Expressions of Speech and Silence A Stylistic-Translational Perspective) by Hasan Ghazala) Cultural Hindrances in Arabic-English Translation by AS Bahameed Translating Arabic Allegory by V Albín The Translator's Dilemma— Implications and the role of the translator, by Antar Solhy Abdellah www.corpus.quran.com – Website by Leeds University Quran Research Group General Islamic Websites & Forums
.1 .2 .3 .4
.5 .6 .7 .8 .9
